'Darkside,' Tom Stoppard's Radio Play Celebrating 40th Anniversary of Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon,' to Be Released November 25

Darkside, a radio play written by playwright Tom Stoppard for BBC Radio 2, incorporating music from Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, will released as a deluxe CD package November 25.

The play was an original commission by Radio 2 to mark the 40th anniversary of Dark Side and was broadcast August 26.

"When The Dark Side of the Moon was a new album in 1973, a friend of mine walked into my room where I was working with a copy in his hand and said, 'You really have to do a play about this album'," Stoppard says. "So, when, roughly 39-and-a-half years later, Jeff Smith from Radio 2 asked me if I'd like to do some kind of play around the 40th birthday of the album, it really wasn't a very difficult decision."

The package resembles a hard-backed book, including a CD of the 54-minute play, which includes the majority of The Dark Side of the Moon, plus a 56-page bound insert of the play's script. The cover features artwork by Hipgnosis designer Aubrey "Po" Powell in collaboration with Storm Studios, based on the specially-created Aardman Animations piece used to publicize the broadcast.

The full play script includes all the dialogue and stage directions, plus Roger Waters' original lyrics from the album. A second disc will feature text translations in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin and Japanese.

The play follows Emily, a philosophy student, through a series of thought experiments, which are vividly brought to life by a cast of characters portrayed by Bill Nighy, Rufus Sewell and others.

David Gilmour: "I found the script of Tom's play fascinating; I can't think of a better way to celebrate The Dark Side of The Moon's 40-year anniversary."

Nick Mason: "I love it. If anyone is going to mess with the crown jewel of albums, Tom is a very good choice."